Honestly if he keeps his form up I'll be surprised if Massa doesn't win a race next season. The guy was pretty quick in every race from Japan onwards. If Ferrari can deliver the car he will win a race, as long as Ferrari support him.

Aside from him, I'd be surprised if Jenson doesn't win a few, obviously Alonso, Vettel and Webber. I'd tip Maldonado for another win if Williams can deliver a strong car, he was on for good results in Valencia and Singapore as well as his win in Spain. If Bottas proves to be faster than him he might even win a race.

Wouldn't surprise me if Perez, Hamilton and Rosberg go the whole season winless. Jury is out on Lotus, they did fall away a bit toward the end, save for Kimi's win.

I wouldn't be surprised if Hamilton doesn't win a race in 2013, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does. The Merc tends to start off the season strong then falls behind, so as history suggests Hamilton has until Montreal to win a race before the car starts to fall behind.

From the list that those who have chosen that they would be surprised if they didn't win, I wouldn't be surpirsed if Hulkenberg, Massa, Grosjean, Raikkonen or Maldonado dont win any races.

I'm not sure about Webber, Perez will be new to the team and Massa is always a question mark - will he be supported and if not, he can be v inconsistent.

Lotus/Merc are a difficult call as who knows how good their car will be? Lotus was pretty good this year, but could fall behind in 2013, whereas Merc have been pretty bad the last few seasons. The Merc was good at the beginning of 2012, but the reliability was appalling - and they went backwards (compared to other teams) as the season progressed.

I would only be surprised if Vettel, Button and Alonso don't win. IMO worst case scenario for Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren is that they're not quite good enough, but I believe they would still have the opportunity to win at least one race with the right driving and decision making and IMO these are the drivers good enough to make that happen. So I anticipate at least one win from each of them. I'd include Hamilton in that list if he was at McLaren, but I don't believe that Mercedes are necessarily going to be in any position to win a race at all.

Vettel, Alonso and Button. Those 3 have the best teams behind them, and certainly hold, or should hold in the case of Jenson, the advantage over their teammates.

I wouldn't be surprised if Hamilton doesn't win a race. He'll get close to winning, maybe a couple of second places, but I just feel that the Merc will just be that tad bit too slow. History suggests Merc will have a .... decent car for the first portion of the season, then they'll start to tail off is the trend.

There are a few drivers I kinda expect to win a race, but I wouldn't say I would be surprised if they didn't:

So, it comes down to both Redbulls, Button and Alonso.

I'd be surprised if Ferrari, Redbull and McLaren didn't put out a race winning car. - Vettel is obvious, but Webber normally has a couple of very good races even in a poor season, so I'd be surprised if he didn't pick up a win driving a Redbull.- McLaren wise, even if they don't have the best car I'd back Button to pick up a win at some point. Although I expect Perez to perform well and probably win a race he's somewhat unproven so I would be exactly surprised if he didn't.- What sort of car Ferrari put out next season is the great unknown after the last few, but I'd be surprised if Alonso didn't grind out a win at some point even in a very average car.

Like I said, it's a very different question to who I think will probably win a race next season: Massa, Perez, Hamilton, Raikkonen and maybe Maldonado would probably be on that list (looks potentially like quite an open season unless Redbull dominate), but I wouldn't exactly be surprised if any other those drivers didn't manage to win one, for various reasons.

Without any major rule changes I'm expecting a similar pecking order to 2012. I'd therefore be surprised if either of the Red Bull or McLaren drivers fail to win a race. As for the Ferrari drivers, I'm expecting another championship challenge from Alonso but given that Massa never really even got close to a win last year I don't think it's likely he'll get a win in 2013. Lotus are a tricky one as they may have won a race last year but their track record in recent years doesn't fill me with confidence. Raikkonen is certainly capable of delivering but I'm not sure the team can match what they achieved last year. I also don't think Mercedes will win this year, they seem to be focusing on 2014 and they'll need to make a massive step forward from the tail end of last year

Webber barely won a race two years ago. He only had two victories last year. It makes three victories in two years. I would not be surprised if he doesn't win anything this year.Mclaren, if it is a crap, neither Button nor Perez have capacity to bring it to victory.Mercedes barely had one victory, and if they are crap, neither Hamilton nor Rosberg will not be able to do anything about it.Massa, he didn't win since 2008.Williams/Maldonado, Renault/Raikkonen need to game up if they want to see another victory.

All the pressure is on the Hulk to win, considering Sauber was close to it last season and he's being hyped as the next big thing he needs to get at least one win.

how exactly are u a driver instructor ?

Hit a nerve have I?

What has a driver instructor/test driver job role got to do with an opinion about an F1 driver you don't agree with? Talk about taking things out of context about something you don't agree with. Instead of going personal about someones job because you don't agree with them, how about being constructive about it.

Last season Sauber made massive improvements and almost go their first win (Not as BMW-Sauber) In 2013 they will continue to push and are looking to get their first win. They brought Hulk in to help them achieve that goal, so the pressure is on him and the team to continue with their push and get that first win. Not only that, but the Hulk buckled last season to get his first one with two major crucial mistakes, so the pressure is on him now to show if he can challenge for those wins without the mistakes, if Sauber continue like they did last season. (Along with the immense amount of Hype he is getting in the media and on the net)

All the pressure is on the Hulk to win, considering Sauber was close to it last season and he's being hyped as the next big thing he needs to get at least one win.

Well no. The pressure is on Sauber to prove they can build a car of that quality two years running. They are a midfield team, no one should expect their drivers to win anything until we see just how good their new car will be.

The pressure is on Perez to win, we know McLaren produce a winning car more often than not. Same goes for Massa and to a small extent Webber. But not Hulk. He doesn't need to win, he just needs to be consistent, beat his team mate handily and possibly get the odd podium if the car is up to it.

Last season Sauber made massive improvements and almost go their first win (Not as BMW-Sauber) In 2013 they will continue to push and are looking to get their first win. They brought Hulk in to help them achieve that goal, so the pressure is on him and the team to continue with their push and get that first win. Not only that, but the Hulk buckled last season to get his first one with two major crucial mistakes, so the pressure is on him now to show if he can challenge for those wins without the mistakes, if Sauber continue like they did last season. (Along with the immense amount of Hype he is getting in the media and on the net)

Last season Sauber made massive improvements and almost go their first win (Not as BMW-Sauber) In 2013 they will continue to push and are looking to get their first win. They brought Hulk in to help them achieve that goal, so the pressure is on him and the team to continue with their push and get that first win. Not only that, but the Hulk buckled last season to get his first one with two major crucial mistakes, so the pressure is on him now to show if he can challenge for those wins without the mistakes, if Sauber continue like they did last season. (Along with the immense amount of Hype he is getting in the media and on the net)

So? They are a midfield team. No one in the media will be expecting Hulk to win any races, they'll say it'll be a nice surprise but unless Sauber deliver a decent car then he has no chance. Sauber as just Sauber don't have a history of producing two very good cars in a row. Look at 2001, 4th in WCC but 2002 was a big drop in form for them again. I expect many expect a similar thing to happen in 2013. They could make another very good car but they may also not. But there is no certainty that they'll be near the top like there is with the Red Bull's or McLaren's for example.

You are putting way to much expectation on Hulk. I'd prepare to be disappointed now. Hell you've probably already written posts in advance for how much of a disappointment he will be because he didn't drag a midfield team to a win.

Also at Brazil last year Hulk was fighting at the front in a car that had no business being there, he over drove the car, pushed it past it's limits but before that he did things his team mate could only dream of achieving last season. Kimi Raikkonen buckled when he was fighting for his first potential win in France 2002, one race doesn't shape a career.

Last season Sauber made massive improvements and almost go their first win (Not as BMW-Sauber) In 2013 they will continue to push and are looking to get their first win. They brought Hulk in to help them achieve that goal, so the pressure is on him and the team to continue with their push and get that first win. Not only that, but the Hulk buckled last season to get his first one with two major crucial mistakes, so the pressure is on him now to show if he can challenge for those wins without the mistakes, if Sauber continue like they did last season. (Along with the immense amount of Hype he is getting in the media and on the net)

So? They are a midfield team. No one in the media will be expecting Hulk to win any races, they'll say it'll be a nice surprise but unless Sauber deliver a decent car then he has no chance. Sauber as just Sauber don't have a history of producing two very good cars in a row. Look at 2001, 4th in WCC but 2002 was a big drop in form for them again. I expect many expect a similar thing to happen in 2013. They could make another very good car but they may also not. But there is no certainty that they'll be near the top like there is with the Red Bull's or McLaren's for example.

You are putting way to much expectation on Hulk. I'd prepare to be disappointed now. Hell you've probably already written posts in advance for how much of a disappointment he will be because he didn't drag a midfield team to a win.

Also at Brazil last year Hulk was fighting at the front in a car that had no business being there, he over drove the car, pushed it past it's limits but before that he did things his team mate could only dream of achieving last season. Kimi Raikkonen buckled when he was fighting for his first potential win in France 2002, one race doesn't shape a career.

There's also the matter of safety car bunching them all up a couple of times. Hulk did make a mistake, but it was under weird circumstances and in a car which was considerably slower than one following it.

Last season Sauber made massive improvements and almost go their first win (Not as BMW-Sauber) In 2013 they will continue to push and are looking to get their first win. They brought Hulk in to help them achieve that goal, so the pressure is on him and the team to continue with their push and get that first win. Not only that, but the Hulk buckled last season to get his first one with two major crucial mistakes, so the pressure is on him now to show if he can challenge for those wins without the mistakes, if Sauber continue like they did last season. (Along with the immense amount of Hype he is getting in the media and on the net)

So? They are a midfield team. No one in the media will be expecting Hulk to win any races, they'll say it'll be a nice surprise but unless Sauber deliver a decent car then he has no chance. Sauber as just Sauber don't have a history of producing two very good cars in a row. Look at 2001, 4th in WCC but 2002 was a big drop in form for them again. I expect many expect a similar thing to happen in 2013. They could make another very good car but they may also not. But there is no certainty that they'll be near the top like there is with the Red Bull's or McLaren's for example.

You are putting way to much expectation on Hulk. I'd prepare to be disappointed now. Hell you've probably already written posts in advance for how much of a disappointment he will be because he didn't drag a midfield team to a win.

Also at Brazil last year Hulk was fighting at the front in a car that had no business being there, he over drove the car, pushed it past it's limits but before that he did things his team mate could only dream of achieving last season. Kimi Raikkonen buckled when he was fighting for his first potential win in France 2002, one race doesn't shape a career.

There's also the matter of safety car bunching them all up a couple of times. Hulk did make a mistake, but it was under weird circumstances and in a car which was considerably slower than one following it.

Agreed. Di Resta stuffed it in the wall too after a pretty terrible race in the same spec car but no one mentions that. Forget the incident, focus on what he managed before it, it was remarkable.

If Hulk had moved to McLaren I'd see the point in very high expectations, but he's gone to Sauber, a team who have never won a race under their own name.

Honestly if he keeps his form up I'll be surprised if Massa doesn't win a race next season. The guy was pretty quick in every race from Japan onwards. If Ferrari can deliver the car he will win a race, as long as Ferrari support him.

Aside from him, I'd be surprised if Jenson doesn't win a few, obviously Alonso, Vettel and Webber. I'd tip Maldonado for another win if Williams can deliver a strong car, he was on for good results in Valencia and Singapore as well as his win in Spain. If Bottas proves to be faster than him he might even win a race.

Wouldn't surprise me if Perez, Hamilton and Rosberg go the whole season winless. Jury is out on Lotus, they did fall away a bit toward the end, save for Kimi's win.

If he starts 2013 in his current form and keeps it up, I'm sure Ferrari will support him

I'd be most surprised if both Vettel and Button didn't score a win. They've had the two best cars over the last four seasons and have always won multiple races.

McLaren did have a tendency to come out with an absolute dog once every few years, but they look like they've become pretty consistent now. Even in the one recent year where they built a complete dog, they made big gains in the development race and it was one of the best cars in the field at the end of that season. So I don't worry about them coming out with a bad car.

With the above considered, I'd be very surprised if Perez didn't win. He showed winning speed last year. He just needs to show he can cope with the expectation that comes with a top team.With Webber I wouldn't be too surprised given he basically inherited a win in the last race of 2011, despite having the best car.I don't trust Ferrari to give Alonso the car he needs, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him winless. I think they could be the biggest surprise/disappointment of this season. If they aren't, I'm sure either Lotus or Merc will be. I think only one of Alonso/Kimi/Lewis will win in 2013.

_________________I don't follow F1 so I don't know what I'm talking about

Last season Sauber made massive improvements and almost go their first win (Not as BMW-Sauber) In 2013 they will continue to push and are looking to get their first win. They brought Hulk in to help them achieve that goal, so the pressure is on him and the team to continue with their push and get that first win. Not only that, but the Hulk buckled last season to get his first one with two major crucial mistakes, so the pressure is on him now to show if he can challenge for those wins without the mistakes, if Sauber continue like they did last season. (Along with the immense amount of Hype he is getting in the media and on the net)

So? They are a midfield team. No one in the media will be expecting Hulk to win any races, they'll say it'll be a nice surprise but unless Sauber deliver a decent car then he has no chance. Sauber as just Sauber don't have a history of producing two very good cars in a row. Look at 2001, 4th in WCC but 2002 was a big drop in form for them again. I expect many expect a similar thing to happen in 2013. They could make another very good car but they may also not. But there is no certainty that they'll be near the top like there is with the Red Bull's or McLaren's for example.

You are putting way to much expectation on Hulk. I'd prepare to be disappointed now. Hell you've probably already written posts in advance for how much of a disappointment he will be because he didn't drag a midfield team to a win.

Also at Brazil last year Hulk was fighting at the front in a car that had no business being there, he over drove the car, pushed it past it's limits but before that he did things his team mate could only dream of achieving last season. Kimi Raikkonen buckled when he was fighting for his first potential win in France 2002, one race doesn't shape a career.

Exactly right.I'm probably one of Hulkenberg's biggest critics on this forum, but he really can't be blamed if he can't win with Sauber.

In 15 previous seasons as an independent (1993-05, 2010-11) Sauber had only six third place finishes and never more than one in a single season.2012 was their best year by a country mile. If their history is anything to go by, there's absolutely no chance they match what they did last year. On the off chance Sauber do provide Hulkenberg with a great car, that is when we can judge Hulk based on whether he wins or not.

_________________I don't follow F1 so I don't know what I'm talking about

Last season Sauber made massive improvements and almost go their first win (Not as BMW-Sauber) In 2013 they will continue to push and are looking to get their first win. They brought Hulk in to help them achieve that goal, so the pressure is on him and the team to continue with their push and get that first win. Not only that, but the Hulk buckled last season to get his first one with two major crucial mistakes, so the pressure is on him now to show if he can challenge for those wins without the mistakes, if Sauber continue like they did last season. (Along with the immense amount of Hype he is getting in the media and on the net)

So? They are a midfield team. No one in the media will be expecting Hulk to win any races, they'll say it'll be a nice surprise but unless Sauber deliver a decent car then he has no chance. Sauber as just Sauber don't have a history of producing two very good cars in a row. Look at 2001, 4th in WCC but 2002 was a big drop in form for them again. I expect many expect a similar thing to happen in 2013. They could make another very good car but they may also not. But there is no certainty that they'll be near the top like there is with the Red Bull's or McLaren's for example.

You are putting way to much expectation on Hulk. I'd prepare to be disappointed now. Hell you've probably already written posts in advance for how much of a disappointment he will be because he didn't drag a midfield team to a win.

Also at Brazil last year Hulk was fighting at the front in a car that had no business being there, he over drove the car, pushed it past it's limits but before that he did things his team mate could only dream of achieving last season. Kimi Raikkonen buckled when he was fighting for his first potential win in France 2002, one race doesn't shape a career.

Exactly right.I'm probably one of Hulkenberg's biggest critics on this forum, but he really can't be blamed if he can't win with Sauber.

In 15 previous seasons as an independent (1993-05, 2010-11) Sauber had only six third place finishes and never more than one in a single season.2012 was their best year by a country mile. If their history is anything to go by, there's absolutely no chance they match what they did last year. On the off chance Sauber do provide Hulkenberg with a great car, that is when we can judge Hulk based on whether he wins or not.

Sauber had two opportunities to legitimately win races on merit last year. Had Hulkenberg been driving the car I think it is likely he would have won, the one time Force India had a car that could win a race he probably would have done had the Safety Car not compressed the field. Given next year is a continuation of this year in terms of the regulations it is likely that the status quo will continue into next year for most teams, with the only exception being Mercedes as they are the only team with a sizeable budget that did not have a competitive 2012 car. The current iteration of regulations are reaching the end of their life span so the performance being gained with each step is smaller and smaller (unless someone comes up with a new wildcard) so it is more likely the field will be even more compressed next year. With 19 races on the calendar it is highly likely that there will be a race in which the Sauber will have the opportunity to win, just as a likely as the Mercedes will. So it would be a surprise for someone that Hamilton would end the year winless it is not a stretch to say it would be a surprise that Hulkenberg would end the year winless. And if he doesn't, that doesn't reflect badly on him, (unless the reasons was because he blew it) but rather surprise that a race with the circumstances for him to win did not arise.

Exactly right.I'm probably one of Hulkenberg's biggest critics on this forum, but he really can't be blamed if he can't win with Sauber.

In 15 previous seasons as an independent (1993-05, 2010-11) Sauber had only six third place finishes and never more than one in a single season.2012 was their best year by a country mile. If their history is anything to go by, there's absolutely no chance they match what they did last year. On the off chance Sauber do provide Hulkenberg with a great car, that is when we can judge Hulk based on whether he wins or not.

Sauber had two opportunities to legitimately win races on merit last year. Had Hulkenberg been driving the car I think it is likely he would have won, the one time Force India had a car that could win a race he probably would have done had the Safety Car not compressed the field. Given next year is a continuation of this year in terms of the regulations it is likely that the status quo will continue into next year for most teams, with the only exception being Mercedes as they are the only team with a sizeable budget that did not have a competitive 2012 car. The current iteration of regulations are reaching the end of their life span so the performance being gained with each step is smaller and smaller (unless someone comes up with a new wildcard) so it is more likely the field will be even more compressed next year. With 19 races on the calendar it is highly likely that there will be a race in which the Sauber will have the opportunity to win, just as a likely as the Mercedes will. So it would be a surprise for someone that Hamilton would end the year winless it is not a stretch to say it would be a surprise that Hulkenberg would end the year winless. And if he doesn't, that doesn't reflect badly on him, (unless the reasons was because he blew it) but rather surprise that a race with the circumstances for him to win did not arise.

You aren't wrong. I just think the constant changing of order last year was mainly due to tyres. They had such a narrow working range that winning races seemed to be more about getting the tyres working than having a fast car. Later on, a much clearer order seemed to emerge.

I expect 2013 to be a lot like early 2009 really. There was a clear order then, with Brawn and RB being the fastest cars, Toyota being there or thereabouts (except for Monaco) and Force India/Toro Rosso/McLaren being pretty slow. But the laptimes were very close, sometimes there was around a second between a top car and a backmarker in Q1. If that happens, track characteristics will change the order at some weekends, which would probably favour Sauber a lot seeing as their best performances in 2012 were at fast, flowing circuits such as Barcelona, Silverstone and Suzuka. They were pretty much average at best at most other tracks.

But as you say, unless Hulkenberg throws away a winning opportunity, he can't be blamed for not winning. I just can't see him getting that opportunity. 2012 was the kind of season we haven't seen in around 30 years and I'd be amazed if we had six winning teams again.

_________________I don't follow F1 so I don't know what I'm talking about

_________________Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have the skill & the will but the will must be stronger than the skill. Muhammad Ali

McLaren did have a tendency to come out with an absolute dog once every few years, but they look like they've become pretty consistent now.

That was Newey putting out a dog every other year when he was at McLaren. His cars were usually fast but fragile, and sometimes slow but fragile. I'll never forgive him for the MP4-18. THe 07 and 08 RBR's were pretty bad as well. I just have this inkling that because the rules haven't changed that much since last season, Newey might just try and be a bit too clever, and possibly outsmart himself. Either that or he'll produce something unbeatable!

F1 racing wins are mostly the result of arithmetic: car speed + driver speed =race speed. So any of the top few drivers,if their car is fast enough and close to the top, should be winners. Even if only once, as were those two cases when the Rosberg/Merc and Maldo/Williams packages were top in 2012.

Providing the Red Bull, Ferrari and Lotus-Renault cars are again the best and within no more than about 0.3 of each other driver-neutral, then Vettel, Alonso and Raikkonen should score wins. For their team-mates Webber and Massa though, it is far more difficult: they are just those crucial 0.3 to 0.4 slower, as well as being on the psychological back foot within their teams. Grosjean was almost as fast as his 'number one' Kimi, but he has quite a psycho barrier to overcome after his 2012 incidents, and I reckon Kimi will be faster in 2013 than he was in 2012. He'll know even more what he is doing!

Button will struggle to make up for any deficiency in his McLaren car speed to Vettel and Alonso. Perez's speed is unknown, but he could well be close to Button. To score a win against Vettel, Alonso and Raikkonen, Perez's McLaren will have to be top-rated, and theirs some way slower.

Even Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel if their cars end up with 2012 Mercedes-type pace or less, will struggle to win.